Physical activity levels in the early years and factors that influence these

Factors influencing physical activity Physical activity is a complex, multi-dimensional behaviour influenced by a wide range of factors. Young children have relatively little control over their behaviours. Understanding the correlates of physical activity is important in changing behaviour. Physical activity is a complex, multi-dimensional behaviour influenced by a wide range of factors (typically referred to as correlates) operating at individual, social and environmental levels. Young children have relatively little control over their behaviours, therefore social and environmental characteristics that facilitate or impair physical activity may be particularly important. Understanding the correlates of physical activity helps to identify population groups that should be targeted for intervention and indicates how we may go about changing behaviour. The following slides summarise the influence of various factors on physical activity patterns in the early years, drawing from recent reviews of the literature.

Factors influencing physical activity: Early years Demographic factors Boys are generally more active than girls. Activity levels in this age group are generally stable and do not change significantly with age. Weight does not affect young children’s activity levels. Compared to older children, the gender gap in physical activity levels is relatively small in this age group (0-5 years) although boys are generally more active than girls. Across this age group the time spent being physically active does not vary greatly.

Factors influencing physical activity: Early years Social/cultural factors It’s unclear whether levels of TV viewing affect children’s physical activity levels. Parent-child interactions and role modelling appear to encourage higher levels of physical activity in young children. A parent’s physical activity levels impact on their children’s physical activity levels. While parental encouragement may influence physical activity in the early years, parent-child interactions and role modelling appear to encourage higher levels of physical activity in young children. Unrelated/mixed effects: Socio-economic status is not related to the time a child spends being physically active.

Factors influencing physical activity: Early years Environmental factors Fewer children within a setting, shorter breaks and more time between breaks can increase levels of physical activity. Children who spend more time playing outdoors have higher levels of physical activity. Settings with fewer children, shorter breaks, more frequent breaks were found to have higher levels of physical activity. Children are two to three times more active when they are outside. Weather has been found to have a mixed effect on children’s physical activity levels.

Physical activity levels in England: Survey data Based on the 2011 UK physical activity guidelines, in England, in 2012: 9% of boys and 10% of girls aged 2-4 years were classified as meeting the current guidelines for children aged under 5 of at least three hours of physical activity per day. 84% of children of this age were classified in the ‘low activity’ group.* *‘Low activity’ meaning that they did less than an hour of activity a day, or did not do sufficient physical activity each day. The proportion of children meeting this guideline did not vary significantly by BMI category.

Physical activity levels in Scotland: Survey data Based on the Scottish Health Survey 2014: 76% of children aged 2-4 years are active for more than 60 minutes per day. 82% of boys exceed 60 minutes per day compared to 71% of girls. The Scottish Health Survey, 2014 measured how many children aged 2-4 years did more than 60 minutes of activities per day which is representative of the proportion of children meeting the children and young people (5-18 years) guidelines. There is currently no appropriate data for Northern Ireland and Wales.